Scotland 7s go back to back at Twickenham

Scotland have won the London 7s for the second consecutive year, beating hosts England 12-7 in the final.It was a famous weekend for Scotland who beat New Zealand en route to retaining their crown, becoming the first Scottish team in history to do so.Victory sees Scotland finish 7th on the overall World Series table, a feat that means they have earnt qualification for next year’s World Cup in San Francisco. Day OneIt was a cagey start to the tournament for Scotland, looking rusty on their way to a 21-7 victory over Russia in their first game in Pool B.Next up were Argentina and the Scots started to find their stride, winning 26-19 and scoring four tries in the process.Their final group game was against France and it turned into a cagey affair that the French snuck 12-17.Day TwoFinishing second in Pool B meant that Scotland would face New Zealand in the Cup Quarter Finals and they got off to the worst possible start, conceding three tries to trail 0-21 at half time. However four unanswered second half tries, two each for Dougie Fife and Jamie Farndale, saw Scotland progress to the Semi-Finals in breathtaking fashion and become the first Scottish team to beat New Zealand in 112 years of trying.It was the USA in the Semi-Final and again Scotland left it late. Tied 14-14 with the clock gone red Jo Nayacavou thundered over the line to win the tie and set up a Final against the hosts.In front of their home crowd England took the lead, Dan Norton scoring a fine solo effort to give his side a 7-0 half time lead.However on the day of comebacks Scotland refused to lie down and second half tries from Hugh Blake and captain Scott Riddell saw them take the victory and retain their crown.ReactionScotland 7s Head Coach Calum MacRae: I’m hugely proud of the players and the manner in which we got over the line today. Beating New Zealand in the manner that we did and our second half performance in the Final were extremely pleasing.If you’re a hard team to beat you’re always going to have an opportunity to win, especially with the firepower we have in attack. We know we can score tries but this Cup was won by the way we defended today.We always play to the 14th minute, the guys never switch off and there were a host of examples of that paying off for us over the competition.I’m proud of the players and I’m proud of the staff. There are a lot of people who have put a lot of effort into this programme and it’s nice for everyone to get the rewards for all of the hours they put in.I’d like to thank every player who has contributed during the course of the series, especially James Johnstone, Nick McLennan and Gav Lowe who weren’t here today but are an integral part of this group.Mark Robertson and Scott Wight are two guys who will now be synonymous with the game of 7s in Scotland.Scott has been an absolute warrior for this team and what an effort he put in today. I’m also so proud of Mark, how he’s managed himself over the course of his career is testament to him.I wish John Dalziel and the entire squad the very best for next season.